Over the years, I have pre-ordered quite a few books.
The most memorable pre-order was for one of the Harry Potter books. DH made sure I had the book pre-ordered with the local Hastings Bookstore. The night of the release, DH (who is a non-reader) went to the store’s release party with me. Even though I pre-ordered the other Harry Potter books, I did not go to any more of the release parties. I actually pre-ordered the last Harry Potter book from Amazon. Before noon on the release day, I was lost in Harry’s world.
The most memorable pre-order was for one of the Harry Potter books. DH made sure I had the book pre-ordered with the local Hastings Bookstore. The night of the release, DH (who is a non-reader) went to the store’s release party with me. Even though I pre-ordered the other Harry Potter books, I did not go to any more of the release parties. I actually pre-ordered the last Harry Potter book from Amazon. Before noon on the release day, I was lost in Harry’s world.
I have pre-ordered other books from Amazon. As an indie author, I have wished to have that option available for my books. The big publishers have had this option for years, and a select few indie authors have had pre-orders available to them for a shorter time.
Yesterday, I received an email from Amazon KDP announcing that KDP authors now have this option available to them. I am excited about this!
Obviously, there are requirements we authors must follow in order to use this option.
- To select this option, we have to upload a final version or a draft manuscript for review so Amazon can review it to make sure it fits into their guidelines and policies. This is the same review process already in place for manuscripts uploaded to KDP.
- Once it is approved, Amazon will create a pre-order detail page.
- If a draft manuscript was uploaded, the final version must be uploaded 10 days before the release date the author set.
There are advantages to the pre-order option.
- The reader can pre-order the book up to 90 days before the book is released (depending when the author sets the release date).
- The book is delivered on the release date to your Kindle device or Kindle app on the day it is released.
- The author can start promoting the book launch. This will increase awareness of the book and author.
- The pre-sales page can be advertised/promoted on various websites.
- The pre-sales generated will contribute towards the books sales ranking, which in turn, affects Amazon merchandising. This can help new readers to discover the book and author.
So, what does this mean for me, the author?
I need to re-arrange my writing schedule and calendar so I can incorporate pre-sales for my future books.
I will be able to tell you an exact release date at Amazon. (Sorry, Bryant Station Curves Book 4 will be out at the end of this month. No pre-orders.)
I believe this will be a win-win situation for all of us.
Do you like the idea of pre-ordering a book and having the specific release date?